Nightmare
by LizzehBoo
Summary: For awhile, it seemed only a dream, a very scary dream. And then it just began to get too real… and Goten couldn’t handle it. Goten AngstHorror. One year after Buu.


**Nightmare**

_**(Summary: For awhile, it seemed only a dream, a very scary dream. And then it just began to get too real… and Goten couldn't handle it. Goten Angst/Horror. One year after Buu.)**_

_**(Author's Note: A story I've been playing with in my head. Not sure where it'll go, but I need some Goten fics. So… yeah. Enjoy.)**_

_Chapter One_

It had begun with a dream. A dream he spoke to no one of. After all, it had only been a dream. He was eight years old. He had an imagination, not to mention he'd been exposed to _far more_ than that of the average eight year old. So he figured it was just because of his humongous imagination and the fact that he was eight. Still, the dream had bothered him to no end, and he was not the person to be bothered ever. He'd always taken so easily and let it slide off his shoulder, a trait he'd gained from his father, but this dream had shaken him to the core.

_He'd awoken to a world out of his control, tinted in reds and oranges and blacks, and yellows. He'd found his legs carrying him shakily forward on a broken ground, listening to the sounds of chaos around him, the sounds of pain, the sounds of fear and loss and dying. And he had turned to see his father and his brother and Vegeta and Trunks standing with their backs to him, and he kept screaming their names and running to them, and yet he could never catch up, and they never turned to acknowledge his presence. He kept his hands outstretched to them, chasing them until his legs gave out and his lungs were collapsing._

_Then he turned again and he saw them again, fighting people he didn't recognize, people he may have heard stories about, but never had seen before. He called out to them again, but his voice vanished upon the air and no sound was heard. He stood still, watching them, unable to move any longer do to the aching in his legs. He knew he could help them. If he helped them, they'd acknowledge him. They'd see him. He took a step forward and a pain blasted into his chest. A scream erupted from his lungs, one that sounded barbaric and foreign, one he'd never ever heard come from him. All of a sudden they had noticed. They were screaming his name over and over, and yet this time, he couldn't look. The pain in his chest was too strong. A small hand, his hand, clasped upon the aching spot and pulled away to reveal a crimson stain. And he fell forward, tears in his eyes. _

_And it hurt. It hurt. It hurt so bad._

He had ignored it the first few times, even though each time became more graphic and frightening to him. He always pretended things were fine. He had to. He was eight. If anyone thought anything was wrong, they'd overreact. Still, whenever he was training with his father, or Gohan, he was always tempted to mention it and see what they thought. And yet, just as it was in the dream, his voice got caught in his throat and he ended up choking on it before it was all over with. After awhile, he ignored it, and focused on more fun things like toys and TV and training. And eventually, it went away for awhile.

But only for awhile…

…

"Alright boys," Videl said, standing before Trunks and Goten. "I'm being paid to watch you two, so don't give me any funny business. Because you _know_ I can catch you." She smirked softly, playfully.

"Oh, please, Videl," Trunks replied in his usual tone. "You act like we're _brats_ or something."

"I wouldn't put it past you," Videl responded, amused.

Goten gave her his cheeriest smile. He did love Videl, and he hoped one day, she'd be his sister. And from what he had seen with her and Gohan a few nights before, he wouldn't doubt that it would be so. They were at Goten's home, something Trunks really wasn't excited about, being that all his toys were back at Capsule Corporation, but Videl had come to "assist" Gohan in babysitting, so they were at Goten's. ChiChi had dragged Goku out for a job interview, and Trunks… well, Trunks just wanted to come over and play.

"So, what do you want to do, Videl?" Goten asked.

"Oh, I don't know," she said, placing her finger to her chin thoughtfully, smiling. "What do you guys want to do?"

"Let's play Hide and Seek!" Goten suggested excitedly.

"You _always_ want to play that!" Trunks exasperated.

"Well, we don't _have_ to," Goten said, feeling a little disappointed at Trunks' disapproval.

Trunks fidgeted uncomfortably. "Well… okay then. Fine. We'll play Hide and Seek."

"All right!" Goten exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

Videl chuckled. "Well, then. Gohan's it!"

Gohan, who had been silently watching the entire time all of a sudden let out a loud squeak. "What? Me?"

Videl laughed, Trunks cackled, and Goten flew off first. In minutes they had disappeared into the surrounding woods. Goten heard Gohan groan.

"Guuuys, that's not funny!"

Of course, he could sense them all and found all three of them before they got to "base," and Trunks began complaining of hunger.

"C'mon! I'm hungry! Let's get something to eat."

"Okay."

"Okay!"

"Okay."

With three replies, Trunks decided that it was time to eat. When Gohan and Videl began to follow inside, Goten found his feet frozen. He looked down at them as if asking them to move, but nothing. Something didn't feel right in his gut. It was churning, like he was going to throw up, and his head began to pound suddenly. Videl approached him slowly.

"Goten? Are you coming?" she asked with a smile.

The dream began to flash in his head, which shocked him, because it has lain dormant for quite some time. It left his entire body stiff like stone and his pupils dilated. It was flashing in the most violent detail he had seen. The blood was redder. The hurt was deeper, the screams were louder. Tears began to well in the bottoms of his eyes at the thought. _Just go away_, he thought._ Just go away…_ But this time the dream repeated, scarier and more ferocious than ever before.

"Goten?" Videl asked, dropping to a crouch before him, a bit more concerned. "Are you alright? Did you get hurt? Do you feel sick? Are you okay?"

Goten wanted to speak, to say he was fine and laugh, but it wasn't true. Something was hurting deep inside, something that was ripping at his organs and ravaging his soul. Videl's hand reach up and placed itself on his cheek, but it was cold, and he couldn't feel it. He was lost in a world that he was afraid of. His heart began to hammer against his chest. Silence… fear… and blood… so much blood.

"Gohan, I think you better get over here," Videl called, though her voice seemed a million miles away.

Goten fell to his knees, tears streaming from one eye, the other holding back just enough to keep them there. Videl grasped Goten's shoulders fearfully.

"Goten? GOTEN! Answer me!" She began to shake him frightfully.

"What's wrong with Goten? He mad that he lost? It doesn't matter. What's… Goten? Hey, c'mon, Goten. Don't act like this. What's your deal?" Trunks always talked a lot when scared or worried.

Goten began to choke on words he couldn't say and a gurgling throat. He could feel himself almost trembling beneath the force of the vision… the weight of it… the overall feeling of _bad_ that he got from it. Videl was still shaking him, calling his name.

"Goten! GOTEN!"

"Hey, Goten! C'mon! Wake up! Stop it, man, you're scaring me!" Trunks began to whimper, the second stage of his fear.

"I'm calling my mom and dad," Gohan said, sounding lost.

There was such a pain in his chest, just bursting through and burning. He coughed and felt hot liquid trickle down his lip. Videl's voice was heightened, and he didn't know why. His vision began to blur a bit, finding it hard to believe what was real and what was fake. All he could make out was that Technicolor blood, and he could feel himself slipping away.

_I shouldn't see things like this… I'm eight… I'm eight… and…_

_…I'm dying…_

"Goten! GOTEN! **GOTEN!**"

His head lolled forward and the world became darkness, the only peace he had from the horrifying nightmare that seemed so much like reality…


End file.
